Certification board could strip ex-EPISD official's credentials

Texas Education Agency officials are determining whether to strip the educator credentials of another El Paso Independent School District administrator who was implicated in a test-cheating scandal.

The State Board for Educator Certification's Professional Discipline Unit is investigating Myrna Gamboa, a former director in the school district's Priority Schools Division. That division, federal authorities have said, was the epicenter of efforts to cheat federal accountability measures by removing low-performing students from the proper grade, kicking some children out of school and preventing others from enrolling.

Gamboa resigned Nov. 1, hours before the school board scheduled a meeting to discuss firing her.

If the state board revokes Gamboa's certifications, she would have to wait at least five years before reapplying for them, or the board could permanently bar her from obtaining educator licenses.

The state board has launched a similar investigation into Jesus Chavez, the former principal of Bowie High School, where a 2011 internal audit found evidence that student grades and grade levels were manipulated.